Daily Digest - August 14, 2026

🎂 Happy Birthday: Kate (Jackson) McCoy of Performant Healthcare,Kate McCoy Inc., Kristin Cooper of Gulf Coast, Matt Kiefer of MKiefer Consulting, and Cliff Sanders of CannaBIZ Collects. Happy belated Birthday to Josh Seuberling of Lendly.

🎉Congratulations for starting new positions: James Savage as Director, Office of Consumer Finance at New Jersey State Department of Banking and Insurance, Rick Winters as Senior Vice President Operations at Halsted Financial Services, Steve Taylor as Assistant Vice President at PayMentor at EXL, Karl Hillard as Vice President Operations at States Recovery Systems, Inc., and Ted Syverson as Vice President, Enterprise Revenue Cycle at Healthfuse.

New Digital Communications Report

The industry is optimistic. Placements are expected to climb. Consumers, it turns out, are more ready for digital than the businesses serving them.

New AI Event!

Cut through the hype and promotion. Figure out what is fact and what is fiction. Learn from the experts who are doing some amazing things with AI. Hear how others are approaching this revolutionary technology and what they are comfortable with it touching inside their operation.

These are all reasons why you need to be at brainstorm. Can you run the risk, personally and professionally, of falling further behind those who are going to be there?

New Training Bytes Video Released!

Check out the newest Training Bytes video! Each week, an expert from the accounts receivable management industry will share how he or she would handle different scenarios that collectors often face. This week, Frank Tirre from Cedar Financial advises collectors how to respond to consumers when they say, “Don’t ever call me at work.” Thanks to Peak Revenue Learning for sponsoring this series! Click on the image below to view this week’s episode!

Collector Facing FCRA, FDCPA Suit Over Alleged Reporting on Recalled, Settled Account

• A $279 cell phone bill has turned into a federal FCRA and FDCPA lawsuit, and the allegations center on what a furnisher is supposed to do once an account leaves its hands. The consumer says the creditor pulled the account back, that she settled it in full with a different agency, and that one collector kept reporting it as open, in collection, and past due anyway. Then came the dispute, and what the furnisher allegedly did with it is the heart of the case.

• More details here.

• This series is sponsored by WebRecon

A MESSAGE FROM TCN

TODAY’S WEBINAR

UPCOMING WEBINARS

Judge Recommends Summary Judgment for Debt Buyer Sued Over Collecting Time-Barred Debt

• A self-represented plaintiff came at a debt buyer with an FDCPA and FCRA suit, more than two dozen motions the court called frivolous, and a damages demand north of $3.6 million, all tied to an account he said was too old to collect. A Maryland magistrate judge has now weighed in, and the recommendation rests on a principle debt buyers will want to see stated in black and white. There is also a procedural twist worth reading, because the judge refused to hand the defendant the easy win.

• More details here.

Judge Allows TCPA Suit Over Calls That Kept Coming After Consumer Texted 'Stop' to Proceed

• She texted "Stop." The company confirmed she had successfully opted out. Then, she says, the phone calls started, more than 20 of them over the following weeks. Now a Florida judge has ruled on the question every operator running calls and texts should be watching: whether a one-word text shutting off one channel can shut off the other too. The answer, and what it leans on from the FCC, is why this one moves forward.

• More details here.

Jefferson Capital Net Income Slips as Collections Jump 18%

• Collections, deployments, and ERC all climbed by double digits last quarter, so why did Jefferson Capital's net income fall? Part of the answer sits inside a legal collections operation that is scaling fast and pulling suit volumes forward. The other part is a new performing asset class the Minneapolis debt buyer is betting most competitors can't handle, backed by record July deployments and a first step into a new country.

• More details here.

CFPB Suspends Union Leader as Bureau Turmoil Deepens: Report

• The CFPB has placed the chair of its staff union on administrative leave and opened an investigation, and the union says management won't say what he allegedly did. Critics are calling it retaliation as the administration keeps pressing to shrink the bureau. It is the latest turn in a stretch of upheaval that has reshaped the agency collectors answer to, and the backstory on how this employee ended up in leadership's sights is worth the read.

• More details here.

California DFPI Fines Mortgage Lender $825k Over Ransomware Breach

• A 2023 ransomware attack exposed data on more than 284,000 people, but California regulators built their penalty around what the lender failed to do long before the intrusion ever happened. The $825,000 order landed even as the company was winding down and had already exited the business, a signal about how far back examiners are willing to reach. For any shop holding consumer PII, the list of cited failures reads like a checklist of what not to skip.

• More details here.

Cost, Not Access, Tops Americans' Healthcare Worries Across Party Lines

• Roughly three out of four Americans name the same thing as the biggest problem in U.S. healthcare, and it isn't getting care. It's affording it. A new survey finds premiums and out-of-pocket costs topping the list across every party and every type of coverage, just as medical cost trends are projected to hit their highest point in nearly two decades. For anyone watching medical receivables, the pressure building on household budgets is the number to keep an eye on.

• More details here

WORTH NOTING: Forget the kids. Won't anyone think of the advertisers? ... The states with the worst property taxes in America ... Your clutter is costing you. Here are ways to get rid of the stuff you don't need ... That automatic bank draft can still be stopped ... How social media has transformed the way in which people cook ... An homage to something that rarely happens anymore: getting lost ... Tricks to snap yourself out of a funk in 15 minutes or less ... Answering animal hygiene questions, like should you ever let a dog lick your face (Ummmm, no).

Funny Friday, part I

Funny Friday, Part II

Webinar Recap: The Answer Key: What NYC's SHIELD Rule FAQs Actually Tell Us

Hosted by Mike Gibb of AccountRecovery.net, this webinar unpacked the newly released FAQs for New York City’s SHIELD Rule, set to take effect January 1, 2027. Panelists Loraine Lyons and Rick Perr provided insights into how the FAQs clarify — and in some cases complicate — compliance requirements.

Key clarifications included the three-by-seven frequency cap, which applies to all NYC accounts regardless of age, and the treatment of validation notices. Notices sent before January 1, 2027 remain valid under old rules, while those sent after must comply with new requirements such as expanded itemization. Importantly, agencies will not need to retroactively amend pre-2027 notices.

The FAQs also addressed Mini-Miranda disclosures, requiring them in all communications where debt information is conveyed. Lyons noted a discrepancy: the FAQs say “prominently,” while the rule itself says “conspicuously.” Perr advised erring on the side of caution: “The Mini-Mini Miranda should be on every communication whatsoever with very few exceptions.”

Another critical update involves call recording disclosures. Collectors must inform consumers not only that calls are recorded, but also that information gathered may be used for debt collection.

Finally, the FAQs emphasize the need to retain settlement agreements and ensure language access consistency. If a validation notice is sent in Spanish, for example, all subsequent communications must continue in Spanish unless the consumer requests otherwise.

🧠 Key Takeaways:

• Update Notices: Prepare validation notices that meet post-2027 requirements, but no need to amend pre-2027 notices.

• Revise Scripts: Ensure Mini-Miranda and call recording disclosures are included in all communications.

• Strengthen Documentation: Retain prior settlement agreements and plan for language access compliance.

This webinar underscored that while the FAQs provide clarity, they also raise new questions. With January 1, 2027 serving as both the effective and enforcement date, agencies should begin implementing changes now to avoid compliance risks.

Webinar Recap: Medical Debt in 2026: How The Rules Have Changed

The 2026 landscape for medical debt collection is marked by heightened regulation, evolving credit reporting practices, and increased consumer protections. Panelists agreed that collections are “harder but different” - compliance challenges have multiplied, but technology and AI are streamlining operations.

State‑specific rules such as charity care screenings, limits on liens and wage garnishments, and restrictions on debt sales are reshaping strategies. As Chris Adams noted, “You get to build a state‑by‑state collection strategy,” underscoring the need for localized compliance. Pamela Kirchner emphasized that rules now affect the entire revenue cycle, from billing to payment plans, not just collections.

Technology emerged as both a challenge and a solution. Megan Hebert compared changing platforms to “a spine replacement while running a marathon,” but stressed that compliance must be embedded in systems. Vendors and compliance attorneys were highlighted as essential partners, with George Buck stating, “I want my compliance attorney to keep me out of the gray.”

Finally, panelists pointed to persistent data quality issues from healthcare providers—incorrect guarantors, duplicate billing, and missed charity screenings. Agencies must educate providers, share error trends, and push for better upstream practices. As Kirchner put it, “It’s our job to make them better.”

🧠 Key Takeaways:

• Embed compliance into platforms: Ensure systems can adapt quickly to state‑specific rules and prevent errors from going “rogue.”

• Strengthen partnerships: Work closely with vendors and compliance attorneys to integrate safeguards and evaluate risk profiles.

• Educate providers on data quality: Use trend analysis, lawsuits, and CFPB complaints to highlight risks and encourage improvements in billing accuracy.

This webinar, sponsored by Connect International, reinforced that resilience in medical debt collection requires a blend of compliance rigor, technological investment, and proactive collaboration with both vendors and healthcare providers.

Did you know you can get full access to all of my past webinars, along with transcripts and summaries of each, for only $29/month? Sign up to be a premium subscriber today!

The Daily Digest is sponsored by TCN